1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to a case flow system which is especially useful for managing inventory in a warehouse.
2. Background of the Art
Case flow systems are typically employed by distributors in warehouses or other facilities for managing the inflow and outflow of cases of merchandise, or inventory, from manufacturers to retailers or other receivers. The distributors temporarily store the variety of goods received from the manufacturer, and ship selected goods to the retailers in accordance with demand as determined by the consumer purchases.
Case flow structures are typically equipped with a roller bed including a plurality of wheels mounted to steel axles joined to a pair of side rails. Case flow roller beds are typically inclined. Thus, the cases, cartons, totes or any other type of container of merchandise are loaded onto the loading end of the roller bed and are allowed to “flow” towards the unloading end under the force of gravity. The cases are manually retrieved from the unloading end of the case flow roller bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,743 to Mefford discloses a case flow system comprising a roller bed equipped with a plurality of independent wheels disposed in a spaced apart relationship along a set of steel axles joined to a pair of side rails. A plurality of inverted generally U-shaped support members extend from the rear to the front of each bed and are located adjacent the wheels. The support members rest upon, and transfer the load to, cross beams disposed underneath the support members, which reduces the load on the axles.
A problem associated with case flow bed systems is the precise lateral placement of the merchandise so that it can be picked up at the proper location along the unloading end. For example, merchandise can be placed imprecisely at the loading end, or can shift laterally while moving to the unloading end, thereby causing shipping errors because of mistaken carton retrieval at the unloading end of the case flow system. At best such errors are time consuming inconveniences. It can be readily appreciated, though, that the risk associated with mishandling of certain types of merchandise, such as pharmaceutical items, necessitates more careful sorting and handling.